Pine estimate

[JontreeHI]

ust an idea....and who can afford to work for $60/hour? So

If I was working for a friend slash neighbor, alone, leaving the brush, I would work for 60 an hr.
Also just spit balling, an idea. Name your hourly rate. The point is that if she trusts you and knows you, don't potentially lose your ass on a contract price with obvious unknowns due to inexperience. Cover your nut hrly

 

[Nish]

Just an idea....and who can afford to work for $60/hour? So 20th century...Isn't $75/hour closer to the going rate, even for the guy feeding the chipper?

For the first time I'm glad my ground crew is largely illiterate. I'd like to feed a chipper for $75/hr and get my weekends and evenings back. If I show up on time can I get a raise?

 

[New2trees]

I am really getting confused now.

I got one guy who would limb down a tree and risk death rather than pick up brush and another guy pays 75 an hour to feed a chipper....

All joking aside, though I am not processing the brush with a chipper (and paying for a chipper and ground crew) I will be cutting it up into small pieces and removing it all from the property and then blowing and raking all the rest to leave the property as clean as practical, and attempt to provide as professional a result as possible.

Although I understand and appreciate you guys looking out for me with the hourly deal, I would rather just bid the job, since then the customer knows exactly what they will be paying and if my estimation is low its really no big deal as I am currently unemployed from my day job of 8yrs (company owner died) so I have plenty of free time on my hands...

Thanks much for all the replies, she has not mentioned the job recently so she may have changed her mind anyhow.

 

[BRT]

Is that a highway barrier wall in the picture behind the tree? If so, just fell it so that the tops break over the wall--then the road crew will have the clean up job. Charge her $100

*oh, you might want to get out of there pretty quick too--after you drop it--those state police have fast cars. NOT my story--->a customer I worked for a couple years ago.

 

[southsoundtree]

Flat rate. Asking the customer to pay hourly to cover your inexperience on a job where the scope of work is easy to pin down seems to serve you and screw her.​

 

[JontreeHI]

I bet that job could be done in less than 20 hours. (1500 at 75 per hr). So who does that serve? I'm not talking about day to day work, I'm talking for a friend, working alone with no insurance bond license etc.
hourly rate is a solid tool that offers transparency to the client. You finish faster than you thought, then you pro rate and save them money. Not for every job. And yes, when I work hourly I bust my ass, and my clients know it.

I guess I agree Sean, to some extent. Hourly rate to cover inexperience is bad. But Hourly rate combined with experience can be very fair for all parties.

 

[evo]

I bet that job could be done in less than 20 hours. (1500 at 75 per hr). So who does that serve? I'm not talking about day to day work, I'm talking for a friend, working alone with no insurance bond license etc.
hourly rate is a solid tool that offers transparency to the client. You finish faster than you thought, then you pro rate and save them money. Not for every job. And yes, when I work hourly I bust my ass, and my clients know it.

I guess I agree Sean, to some extent. Hourly rate to cover inexperience is bad. But Hourly rate combined with experience can be very fair for all parties.

I do this quite a bit. I will put a reasonable cap on it knowing if I mess up badly that it's on me. I frequently work for an hourly rate with a "not to exceed price" fairly safe for all parties. The only time I pull a hourly rate is when I am shooting high in extreme territory, such as bluff work, views (where there is always one more limb), or sketchy jobs where I have no idea how long it will take. But often this has some sort of cap measured in days not hours.
It's perfectly reasonable to say I will do this job for x amount hourly but it won't take longer than y amount of time, and I will bill you accordingly not exceeding z amount.

 

[Nish]

I am really getting confused now.

Sorry for getting off topic on this earlier. Does Bartlett do free estimates? Maybe have them or someone else put a price on it and then see if you're willing and able to do it for less. I'm terrible at photograph-based quotes, and almost never do it. DBH helps me quite a bit more than tree height. I would consider very carefully the task of disposing of the wood and debris, especially if you don't have machines and a crew. It sounds like opportunity costs aren't much of a factor here. Weigh that into the mix. It's generally better to be working and making something than sitting around and getting depressed. As your own story suggests, tree work tends to beget tree work.

 

[southsoundtree]

Hello all,

My neighbor saw me take down a 70 ft oak on my property and now she has a pine tree about 85ft she wants me to remove. The good thing is its not near any buildings, just other trees..the bad news is it is near other trees.
View attachment 46844
Its got a hollow trunk as you can see but the opening is in the direction (my property) I would like to drop the stem. What do you think is a fair price to remove the tree and all wood and if she wants the stump ground how much should I add? As far as area/market the tree is in Bethesda MD which is in the top ten richest counties in the country.

What is your rigging/ felling game plan?

And if you damage other trees, then what?

What is your confidence level in being able to do this, as planned, and without unanticipated and unacceptable impacts, on a 1-10?

Can you accurately fell that tree on that slope? Hard to tell how steep it is, but fwiw slopes mess with some people, some times. How much examination of the hollow and hinge area have you done?

 

[Brocky]

When I have a similar job, where it's just manual labor after the tree is down, I'll charge less per hour then the time spent in the tree.